Jr. League Wine Tasting Party

This year marks 10-years that I've been a member of the Junior League of Charlotte.

No doubt, joining is one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Yes, it's a time commitment but I'm able to contribute to our community all while making lasting friendships.

 

We have monthly meetings but in the last few years they've converted a few of the meetings to in-home, small group meetings.

These are my favorite!!

 

Last night I attended a small group meeting at a member's home and it's by far the best I've ever been to.

After the business portion of the meeting, Mary Sherrill did a wine tasting that was also a competition!

She asked everyone to bring 2 bottles of wine under $10.

One that you would put in for tasting and to compete with and the other bottle would go into the prize pool.



Of course she had nibbles for all of us ladies.

What would a party be without cupcakes?

Wine tasting means there HAS to be cheese!

Back to the wine tasting.

So, how it works.

Everyone picks which bottle that they brought that they want entered into the competition.

Mary Sherrill kept track of who brought what and put all the wines in paper bags with numbers on them.

She knew that my bottle was, you say, #1.

The paper bag part is brilliant because then people can't be swayed by fancy labels or brands.

Smart.Smart.Smart.

Then we split into two groups.

Depending on what wine you chose to compete with you were either in the red wine room or white wine room.

It seemed most of the ladies brought and chose to taste reds.

Literally,

There were only 3 or 4 people in the white room.

(which also means there wasn't as much competition - sorta wish i would have been in that room)

The red group was so big that we actually split up into 2 groups in there.

Half of us tasted about 8-wines and the other half tasted the other 8-wines.

We had a sheet and rated them 1 to 10.

In the end the person who brought the favorite wines of the 3 groups(2 red groups and 1 white group), got to take home wine in the prize pool!

 

Giving there was 25 people there that means there were 25-bottles of wine split between 3 women to take home!!!

Gosh, I wish I would have won!

Such a fun idea for a party.

She said she has been to several parties like this with friends and that's where she got the idea.

Of course, this was my first rodeo but I am a huge fan and can't wait to get a group of ladies to do this with!





But, of course the highlight of the night was seeing this sign proudly displayed in her home.

Mary Sherril's husband is from the town of Shelby.

BTW - the winning wines were as follow:
White - Vinho Rose
Red - Smoking Loon Pinot Noir
Red - Cantina Del Grifone 1967 Toscana 2009

Summer Brunch at the Knepps

Through the Junior League of Charlotte I've been lucky to have met some wonderful ladies.

Women around the same age, professional, and some of whom are moms to little ones like me and some who are not.
One of those ladies, Sarah, was gracious enough to invite us over to her Summer Housewarming/Sip in See(for her 4-month old daughter Charlotte)brunch this weekend.

Brad was busy picking up our new camper so my Mom came with Shelby and I.

Of course, I brought my new fancy camera and took numerous pictures.

Sara, the hostess, is in the middle looking adorable in her chevron.

The other girl is another JLCer, Lory.

Sarah outdid herself!
Her spread was straight out of Pinterest.

She's an event planner for work, so I wouldn't expect anything less.
I loved the flowers inside the watermelon.

The quiches were delish.

It wouldn't be brunch without mimosas.

Sarah and her sweet 4-month old daughter Charlotte.

Shelby was good but I'm pretty sure she's teething because she just hasn't been her happy-all-the-time little self.

No smiles :(

GiGi isn't the only one who is crazy about Shelby.

There were a ton of families with children.

So fun!

One of the highlights of the brunch was realizing that one of Sarah's neighbors is a friend from the local LSU Alumni group.

Jason and I were actually in school at the same time and know a lot of the same people even though we didn't know each other.

Their other child was in the yard playing.

 

Thanks again to the Knepp's for inviting us.

I'm just sad Brad didn't make it to meet everyone!

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a busy one and I almost need a day off just to recuperate!

As many of you know, I'm a member of the Junior League of Charlotte. While the past few years I've opted to have leadership roles inside the League for my placement, this year I chose to get back into the community.

So, I spent my weekend volunteering at a grief camp for children run by Hospice of Charlotte.

Chameleon's Journey is held at a local campground right on the lake and only 5-miles from our house.

The weather could not have been more perfect!

The point of the camp is to socialize kids age 7 through 16 with others who have been through similar losses.

Many of these children have lost a parent and/or a sibling to a sudden death or a long-term illness.

They canoed..

Climbed..and more.

Of course, there is a lot of talking that takes place as well to help these children deal with grief.

Overall, it's a GREAT organization and event!

Being 8-months pregnant I was a little nervous about the weekend so I opted to be on the 'All About' crew since I knew I wasn't going to be able to canoe and do all of the activities with the kids.

Such as zip-lining, which was the crowd favorite.

Instead I helped set up for the activities and other duties to make sure things were running smoothly.

It was a very rewarding weekend, and one that makes me even more excited about becoming a parent.

There are a lot of details I've left out but there was a memorial service where the kids made boats with messages to their loved ones on them and sent them out to sail in the lake.

Then today, as things wrapped up, there was a balloon launch, where notes were again sent up to loved ones.

Very moving!!

Needless to say, I was tired so I came home Sunday afternoon and crashed!!

Then, later in the evening, I grabbed LuLu and we went to the Junior League of Charlotte's Fall Fundraiser, Lights, Camera, Fashion!

Held at Belk in SouthPark Mall, it's a fashion show/shopping event.

And, one of the special guests was Adrienne Maloof from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills!!

NOT going to lie.

I'm a cheeseball, crazy fan for the RHOBH. I was really excited about seeing her!

And, this is about as close as I got!

Still a good time!

The real highlight of the weekend though?

My LSU Tigers pulling off a close win against the USC Gamecocks!!

HOLY SMOKES, I didn't think it was going to happen!!

This season is not unlike others, nail biting!

How was your weekend??